One of the valley’s least-known failings is that in the midst of immense wealth, one out of every four residents can’t afford the basic necessities of life. Nearly half of low-income residents here go hungry at some point each month.

A new coalition of 90 community service groups, calling themselves Step Up Silicon Valley, is embarking on a 10-year plan to cut poverty in the valley by half. The goal is as ambitious as it is noble — particularly given the economy, which means that large amounts of new public or private money are unlikely to be forthcoming. It’s encouraging that the coalition convened by Catholic Charities believes it can still make a difference.

Ironically, a top priority is to get the federal government to update its income measurement so that more valley residents are officially in poverty. The feds don’t take into account the extraordinarily high cost of living here, where a worker needs to make $24 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Raising the poverty level would make more residents eligible for existing programs to help with basics such as food and health care.

This is how Santa Clara County’s Healthy Kids program became a national model, providing health insurance for nearly every child. In some cases it means finding money for premiums, but most of it is accomplished by making sure families get help they’re already entitled to.

There will always be low-wage, low-skill jobs and people to fill them. The labor is honorable and needed. But the people who perform it should not have to subsist in misery, and parents working multiple jobs shouldn’t have to worry about their kids going hungry. That’s what has to change.

Facing up to the problem in Silicon Valley is a great first step. Multiplied by 90 community groups, it could become a thundering march.

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